This invention relates to a safety device for protecting the human eye. In particular, it relates to a lateral eye shielding device which may be removably attached to and supported by the temple arm of conventional eyeglass frames. It may be adjusted vertically relative to the temple arm, to shield the eye from infectious splatter, which may arise in the course of an operative procedure.
Various modes of lateral eye protection are known in the prior art. See for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,298,991, for peripheral view finders, which discloses an apparatus to limit the peripheral vision of the user, with lateral shields which pivotally attach to the temple arms and where pivotal movement is restricted so that the shields can be placed in one of two positions, to either block the peripheral vision or to leave it unobstructed.
See also U.S. Pat. No. 4,105,304 for a side glare eliminating device, which attaches at the temple arm of the eyeglasses. Each side of the shield member provided has two overlapping shields, one of which is positioned rigidly along the temple member and the other is pivotally moveable to adjust the angular orientation with respect to the temple member to lower the elevation of the shield from a singular overlapping point of attachment.
A variety of other eye protectors which are mounted on eyeglasses, particularly at the temple member thereof, are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,224,784; 3,721,490; 3,505,679; and 2,858,839. None of the foregoing patents disclose a side shield with a plurality of means to allow the shield to be attached at varying elevations relative to the temple member and the eye. Nor do these prior art devices allows the full shield to be positioned at variable elevations relative to the temple arm in order to provide protection from specific sources which are at varying lateral angles from the eye.
Moreover, a principal disadvantage of such known devices is their cost.